Save Money this Summer with These HVAC Maintenance Tips

Save Money this Summer with These HVAC Maintenance Tips

  The summer heat can bring on the budget blues when it starts to reflect on your electrical bill. The best way to keep your costs down and your home comfortable is to stay on top of bi-annual HVAC maintenance. Doing so helps your unit last longer and provides you with greater energy efficiency, reducing its cost of operation. Here is a list of maintenance tasks you should perform this summer to save energy and save some money. Clean or Replace Your Air Filter Tackling this maintenance task alone can reduce energy use by as much as 15 percent. It’s recommended that you replace your air filter monthly during the summer. Use a Programmable Thermostat Replacing your thermostat to a programmable one allows you to take advantage of the times when the house can stand to be warmer, such as when it’s empty or at night, in order to be more efficient. Invest in a smart thermostat that you can communicate with via a cellphone app so you can cool your house ahead of your early arrival. Keep any heat-producing appliances away from the thermostat, including TVs and lamps. Don’t Fiddle Speaking of thermostats, set the temperature to your comfort zone and no lower. Contrary to popular belief, a lower setting will not cool your home any faster. Take Advantage of the Night If you live in a place that gets cold at night, take advantage the chilled air by opening windows in the evening to ventilate the home. Remember to close windows when you wake up to seal in the cooler air accumulated overnight. Open Vents, Seal Windows Closed air vents...